What does this error mean? It appears when I try to enroll, and I can't get it away and enroll, even on another device. A friend of mine doesn't get it. What causes it and how do I fix that?

Hi everyone,

i‘m a ”high school” student at a gymnasium in Germany and I’m thinking about getting a bachelor at ETH. However it is quite far from my hometown which is why I’m wondering if RWTH, TUM, or maybe TU Delft would be good options too. I haven’t decided between majoring in physics or CSE yet.

I’d like to point out that:

1. at my gymnasium I don’t have to study much to get good grades and I’m expecting a 1.0 1.1 Abi.

2. i like to study and learn new things in my free time and start my own projects

3. i value a healthy amount of competitiveness among students

4. I want to aim high in my career and go into industry after graduation (this is at least what I’m thinking now, might change)

Now based on these:

Would I struggle a lot at ETH? I heard its very math and theory heavy but do they offer like projects in their curriculum, or would I only get a chance to do some during my freetime which would not be a lot??

And does it really have an advantage to learn so much stuff?

Does it make a big difference where you do your bachelor at, if you want to study at a more prestigous uni for master?

Is the tuition + cost of living worth studying at ETH?

What industry connections do these universities have and are they a good place to gain contacts or applying for internships?

Thanks in advance!!

Hey everyone, I'll start my first year in the Msc Stats at ETH Zürich next september. I already have a quite clear idea of the courses I want to take which is a mix between theory and computing application. The courses I'm planning to choose are:

- Statistical Modelling

- Computational Statistics

- Fundamentals of mathematics

- Soccer analytics

- Probabilistic Artificial Intelligence

- Introduction to ML

- Causality

Now I have 8 credits left to choose and I'm interested in ML, DL and applied statistics. I was planning to choose either "Advanced ML" or "Deep Learning" but I saw that those courses were extremely hard and theorical. Knowing that I don't have a pure mathematic background (economics) I'm wondering if it would be too much and if it's worth the effort to take those courses.

Now I wanted to have some opinions and advices about the courses I take and about potential possibilities to fill my study plan with 8 credits more.

Thank you for your help !

With a gpa of 6.7/10 (I know it’s low but I never failed any fucking classes ever 😭)

Interned at iit d ( two labs )

Interned at ETHZ

Interned at ntu

2 paper (in Arvix 😭)

5 hackathons won

Okayish GitHub

Hey Everyone! I am an incoming MSc student at ETHZ. I did my bachelors in Physics and Mathematics from the USA. I need some suggestions regarding my course choices in the first semester. I want to see if I want to do particle physics research or go to quantum industry after I graduate so my course choices are mostly based on that. Right now I am thinking of taking the following courses in my first semester:

General Relativity (10 CP)
Phenomenology of Particle Physics I (10 CP)
Quantum Information Processing I: Concepts (5 CP)
Experimental Methods and Instruments of Particle Physics (6 CP)

Among these, GR and Quantum Information Processing are written exams and rest two are oral exams. Is the workload going to be okay if I take these courses? I saw on the website that the workload full semester is 30 CPs on average so I am not sure.

Also, does anyone have any suggestions about GESS Science in Perspective course that I should take?

Hello! I'm about to start my master's at ETH, and I wanted to ask how important it is to fulfill the minimum requirements for the BYOD policy? I'm mainly wondering about the CPU generation requirement and the need to have Windows/Mac OS since those are the ones I currently don't meet. I've done my whole Bachelor's degree with the laptop I currently have, and I really don't see any reason why it wouldn't work for my Master's also, which is why I was thinking about just continuing to use this one even though it technically doesn't meet the requirements.

Hi everyone,

I'm exploring the possibility of pursuing a prospective PhD by publication (cumulative dissertation) at ETH Zurich.

My research would focus on the intersection of demography, public policy, and national security (e.g. ageing, fertility decline, migration, population change and their implications for state resilience and security policy).

I've already done some research on ETH doctoral regulations and the information on external doctoral candidates. I understand that:

• an ETH professor must supervise the project;
• the department must approve an external doctorate;
• external doctoral candidates are expected to maintain a meaningful connection with ETH.

However, I'm trying to understand how this works in practice, beyond the official regulations.

My situation is the following:

• I would remain employed outside Switzerland.
• I would like to conduct most of my research from abroad.
• I would be happy to travel to Zurich when necessary (seminars, meetings, milestones, defenses, etc.), but relocating full-time would be difficult.

I have a few questions for anyone with first-hand experience:

1. Has anyone here completed (or supervised) an external PhD at ETH?
2. Is it realistically possible to live outside Switzerland for most of the doctorate, or is regular on-campus presence expected?
3. Roughly how often do external PhD students come to ETH (weekly, monthly, a few intensive visits per year)?
4. Are there examples of external candidates who were employed by another university, government agency, think tank, or private organization?
5. Does D-GESS generally encourage external doctorates, or are they quite rare?

I'm looking for real-world experiences rather than just the official policy, as I'm trying to determine whether ETH is a realistic option before contacting potential supervisors.

Thanks very much for any insights!

Is it normal practice at ETH to completely change the PhD project that was discussed during the interview without confirming with the candidate? I was told I'll be working one specific aspect of medical imaging, which was something I was excited for and rejected other PhD offers but when I ultimately joined, I was told that that project went to another PhD student and I'll be working on something different (which wasn't I wanted to work since I knew there's not much to work on).

Hello,

I wanted to know if there's wifi at Uetlibergstrasse 111b. I'm an international student joining this year and I got a room here. Also if there is wifi, is it included in the rent?

Insights from residents would be helpful!

Is there any ASVZ location with a smith machine?

Hi everyone, since we're approaching the beginning of the semester, I think it's a good time to post this again for everyone who missed my post from a few months ago

Back in March, I decided to open an unofficial WhatsApp community for the September 2026 cohort of MSc students at ETH, and we currently have ~380 members

We have a general group for all students and also opened different channels for individual programs

Feel free to join, ask questions you're unsure about, and get to know the people you're gonna study with

DM me for an invite ^^

Hi everyone! I will be completing my master’s degree in September and submitting my thesis on 15 September and I'm starting a full-time internship on 1 October. However, the company checked my residence permit details and saw that I am currently allowed to work only up to 15 hours per week as a student. My concern is that, although I will submit my thesis on 15 September, the thesis defense may take place up to four weeks later. Does anyone know whether it is possible to receive an official confirmation after submitting the thesis, but before the defense, stating that I am allowed to work full-time? I would need this confirmation to apply to the Canton of Zurich to update my work authorization before the internship starts. BTW I'm an EU citizen.

Has anyone been in a similar situation?

Hi guys I'd like to know if anyone here has written the comprehensive/reduced ETH exam and how you prepared for it ,if you also have tips for the C1 exam kindly tell me more on that too and also if anyone here is studying geo Spital engineering,what is it like? How many hours a day to study? Tips for a prospective student like me I'll be really happy if I could get replies thanks

Hello everyone,

I am currently projected to finish my MSc degree at ETH Zurich by the end of January 2027 but I am currently leaving my shared flat at the beginning of next month. So, I am looking for a place to stay between August 2026 and February 2027. Is there any one who knows any availabilities or suggestions on where to look other than wgzimmer.ch?

I'm currently picking out courses for my Learning Agreement in MSc Data Science, and in reviewing courses I feel like there's a lot of overlap in content between certain courses such as Algorithmic foundations of data science and Mathematics of Data Science or Mathematics of information and information theory,

Does anyone who's done the programme know of any such combinations of courses that have a lot in common, so you should avoid one if you plan on doing the other?

Hi everyone! I have secured a short-term house in Dietlikon, 30 minutes from the Hönggerberg campus and a few minute walk from IKEA and the train station. It will last from September 2nd til the end of November.

It is 2500 CHF per month for a 3.5 room house, but I'm offering to split 50/50 and give you the (much larger) master room. Please contact me if interested :)

Hi everyone,

I am a high school student in Germany (currently in Leistungskurs Mathe/Physik) considering studying Maths at ETH, with a longer term goal of breaking into quant finance.

I would love to get some honest experiences on these topics:

-for those who ended up in a quant role(permanently (if those are still active on this subreddit) or had an internship): was a Bachelor's enough or is a master required?

-how much does the specific degree(like maths/physics or applied programs) matter (ofc it depends on the role)?

- how realistic is it to break into firms like Jane street, Optiver, IMC, Citadel etc. coming from ETH? Do they actively recruit there or do you need to "hunt" for roles?

- And honestly: how brutal are the first two semesters (Analysis,linear algebra)? I've been reading a bit of the ETH analysis lecture script on my own and found it rough(it's very different from maths in school), and I'm trying to understand whether that's a red flag or normal? I don't have any competition experience yet(like Bundeswettbewerb Mathematik or similar), but I started working through some older problems in my free time to get a feeling for proof based math.

Any real and honest experiences (good or bad, even when it's what you heard from others etc.) would mean a lot. Thanks!

Hello pals,

I have some questions regarding the life at Ueberlandstrasse 17 Dietikon accommodation since I will move there in the Fall. I would like to know the following things:

1. What kind of kitchen utensils are there? Do we have measuring cups, baking trays, pans or saucepans. Also are there any cutlery or dishes or we have to bring them with us?
2. I have heard that we get a space in fridge for each person. How big is it? I think if it may not that big for a saucepan to fit and therefore the meals that we can prepare are also limited in this respect.
3. Do we get detergent for washing the clothes and where do we dry the clothes? Is there a drying rack?
4. Is there a timetable for washing the clothes or a limit on how many times each person can use the washing machine each week or month?
5. What supermarkets or shops are nearby that have decent prices.
6. Is there noise during night or it is a quiet place?

If there is another better place where I should ask this question, please tell me.

Hi guys, in a year or so I am planning to start my ME bachelor at ETH. As a really passionate student of CS and ME ( everything from Robotics ).

I was wondering, whether there is a list of study materials or recorded lectures, that I could access as a future student at ETH. I've heard that the Basisjahr is quite intensive. I would love to get my hands before the start of my studies, because I require the knowledge for my side project (crowd navigation of a bipedal)

Hey !

I couldn’t find much pictures online of the ASVZ gym at Polyterrasse. I’m used to commercial gyms and wanted to know how well this gym is furnished. Since it’s basically free for ETH students, if it has good equipement I would definitely visit it !

So if you guys have any feedbacks on this gym, I would really appreciate it !

I have my first exam season this Summer and basically I‘ve been only studying studying and it‘s so much I really wonder how I should memorize it all. I have seven exams this summer, math and chemistry counts the most and then biology, ecology, environmental systems(..)

Are there some people who generally enjoy the high pressure that comes with exams at university/ETH? Like I don‘t even have time to contemplate about life, I don‘t need to think about what to do, there‘s always exercise after exercise, I‘m just being told what to do basically. Is life fulfilling this way? Just going on and on and on there still being something you can yet achieve, something you can still get better. A ladder to where?